Emergency Food Assistance Reaches the Tables of Cambodia

MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Over 68,000 of Cambodia's poorest families have received emergency food assistance following the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors' approval of the project last month.

Food distribution has been supervised by independent NGO monitors.

“This assistance is making a very real difference in the lives of Cambodia’s most vulnerable – particularly its children,” said ADB Country Director Arjun Goswami. “Putting food on the tables of Cambodia’s poorest families, just one month after the project’s approval, is a commendable accomplishment by the Government.”

One of the primary objectives of ADB’s emergency food assistance is to help support Cambodia’s efforts to ameliorate the food price inflation shock on the poorest and most vulnerable families in the seven provinces around the Tonle Sap Lake, and in three urban slums around Phnom Penh.

The Project targeted the poorest 20% of poor families in 200 selected communes.

A relatively limited number of complaints mainly related to the selection of beneficiaries have been lodged with the ADB-Cambodia Resident Mission’s complaints hotline.

“Unfortunately, the Project’s funding simply could not cover all of those families in need of food assistance,” said Mr. Goswami. “It is understandable that some of those who could not be reached with assistance feel let down.”

All complaints will be investigated and followed up by the Royal Government of Cambodia, with independent NGO monitors and ADB staff acting as observers, starting the week of 17 November 2008.

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